Propelling apparatus for vessels



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.-

W. 1. PAGE. Propelling Apparatus for Vessels. No. 242,031. Patented May 24,1881.

(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. I. PAGE. Pro-pelling Apparatus for Vessels. No. 242,031. Patented May 24, 188i.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. 1. PAGE. Propelling Apparatus for Vessels. No. 242,031. Patented May 24,1881.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILL AM- I. PAGE,-OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PROPELLING APPARATUS FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,031, dated May 24, 1881.

Application filed July 22, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I. WILLIAM I. PAGE, of Boston, county'of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented au Improvement in Propelling Apparatus for Vessels, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Myinventiou relates to propelling apparatus for steam-vessels, the vessel being propelled by reciprocating paddles, instead of the usual wheels orscrews. The paddles may be reciprocated by a direct-acting engine, they passing backward and forward in the same path and being provided with feathering mechanism to turn them through one-fourth of a revolution at each end of their stroke, to thus place their faces in position to act on the water and propel the vessel when moving in one direction or in their forward stroke, and to place them in position to pass edgewise through the water in the other direction or back stroke. Automatic lockin g devices are employed to lock the said paddles in either position during the stroke, so that they may not be turned by the action of the water, the said locking devices being released j ustbefore the end of the stroke, to allow the paddles to be turned or feathered.

When desired to reverse the direction of movement of the vessel, it is not necessary to stop or reverse the engine, but the feathering mechanism may be operated by asuitable shifting device to cause thepaddles to make their stroke in the opposite posit-ion, making their forward stroke ed gewise and their back stroke face to the water, and when desired the feathering mechanism may be thrown entirely out of operation and the paddles remain locked, either ed gewise or face to the water, according as it is notor is desired to retard the vessel.

As herein shown, two sets of three paddles each are employed, the sets being situated near the middle of the vessel, one on each side of the keel, and as the feathering mechanism of each set may be controlledindependently of the other, the paddles maybe used to steer the vessel by reversing the feathering mechanism of either side, as desired, or by-locking either set of paddles'in either position edgewise or face to the water, as before described, according to the exigencies of the ease, the vessel bein g thus completely controlled in its movement without the use of a rudder, if desired.

The invention also consists in certaindetails of construction, which will be hereinafter described, having for their object to strengthen the parts and facilitate the overhauling of the machinery for repairs, &c., and to enable the paddles to be taken inboard, as when it is desired to propel the vessel by sails.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved propelling apparatus. Fig. l is a plan view of a portion of a vessel provided with myimproved propelling apparatus, one set of paddles and their feathering and driving mechanism only beingshown, the other being precisely the same Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof, the side of the vessel and well-room in which the paddle-shafts are situated being removed Fig. 3, an end elevation of the shifting or featherreversing mechanism enlarged, the feathering mechanism being shown in the first three figures in proper condition for forward propulsion Fig. 4, a transverse section of the vessel and propelling mechanism; Figs. 5 and 6, side and end elevations-(the latter on a larger scale) of the feathering and shifting mechanism in position to propel in the opposite direction to that shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3; Figs. 7 and 8, views of the same parts in position to retain the paddles locked in the same position during both strokes and Fig. 9, a modification to be referred to.

The main driving-rods a a, provided with cross-heads a to be connected with the pistonrods of preferably direct-acting engines, pass through suitable stuffing-boxes b, into the well-rooms 0, shown as situated at each side of the keel of the vessel, (see Fig. 4,) and preferably constructed of two boiler-iron plates, 0 a, tightly connected, as by bolts, with end piece, 0 the said well-rooms containing the paddle-shafts d and paddle-shaft socket 6, connected atone end with the driving-rods a a in any suitable manner, as by screw-threads, and at its other end with a rod, (i passing through the stuffing-box b, in line with and forming an apparent continuation of the driv ing-rod a, and serving as a guide to steady the movement thereof.

The cross-heads a a maybe guided in any suitable manner. I have shown their ends grooved to fit and slide upon one edge of a rod, 20, supported in standards 21 but I do not confine myself to this mode of guiding said cross-heads.

The feathering and paddle-lockin g mechanism is mainly supported in a frame, f, arranged to reciprocate with the paddle-shafts d and paddles d thereon, it sliding in suitable guides f at the top of the well-rooms 0.

An auxiliary rod,f is used to connect the cross-head a with the framef, in order to transmit the force directly from the former to the latter, instead of transmitting it by means of the upper portion of the paddle-shafts d, and thereby sub ecting them to bending strain.

The paddle-shafts d are provided at their upper ends with pinionsgmeshing in two rackbars, h 2 passing through gnidesj on the frame f, and limited in longitudinal movement by the engagement of one or the other of the pins 2 011 the bar It with one of the guidesj to a distancejust suflicient in acting on the pinionsg to turn the shaft d one-fourth a revolution to change the paddles d from a position edgewise to one face to the water, or the reverse. When at the end of its movemcntin either direction, the rack-bars are locked to prevent a reverse movement by one of the locking devices, k k, pivoted at 3 on a bracket, k connected to the bar 11, engaging the corresponding one of the studs 4 on the framef. Near the end of the stroke in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, the unlocking-cam I, pivoted at 7 on the side of the well-room, acting on the inclined end 5 of the locking device Ir, lifts it out of engagement with the stud 4 at the moment that the end of the rack-bar it comes into engagement with and is stopped by the feathering tappet m, thus allowing the framefto complete its movement in the direction of the arrow and giving the bar h a movement relative to the said frame in the opposite direction,which, in acting on the pinions g, turns the paddles one-fourth a revolution, bringing them edgewise to the water, and at the same time the locking device k is brought in position to engage, by its notched portion 6, the corresponding stud 4, to thereby lock the paddles in this position while the back stroke is made, near the end of which the cam Z disengages the locking device k, and the tappet m engages the other end of the bar 71, causing the paddles to be again turned as the stroke is completed, and again locked by the locking device I; and stud 4, when another forward or propelling stroke s made in the direction of the arrow, and T e operation continued, as just described.

When it is desired to reverse the direction of propulsion, the movement of the engine may remain the same, but the operation of the feathering mechanism is reversed, so that the propelling or forward stroke will now be in the opposite direction, or, in other words, when the paddles are in the propelling position, as in Fig. 2, they must be moving in the direction opposite to the arrows, and the feathering mechanism will have to be unlocked and shifted at the opposite end of the stroke to that previously described. To do this the tappets m m, pivoted at S on the ends of the well-rooms, are thrown over into the position shown in Fig. 6, to engage the bar 2' and leave the bar 71. free by operating the shifting-handle 0 on a shaft, 0, extended entirely along the top of the well-room, and provided at the ends thereof with arms 0 connected, by links 0 with the tappets m, to enable the said tappets to be shifted by rotating the handle 0 and connected shaft 0.

The parts are shown in Fig. 5 moving in the same direction as in Fig. 3, but with the paddles in the other positi0n-that is, edgewisethey being locked by the device and its stud 4, instead of by the device it, they being about to be reversed at the end of the stroke by the bar i and tappet m.

It will be seen, referring to Fig. 2, that the unlocking-cam I cannot unlock the device Ir, nor the cam l the device It, as will now be necessary.

In order to properly unlock the devices k it when propelling in the reverse direction, two additional unlocking-cams, 1 1 are employed, they being pivoted at 9 on the side of the wellroom, and being thrown into operative position by the link a connected with cam l and provided with a handle and notches, 10 11, to engage the projection 12 and retain the handle in either position. The cams l Pare connected by a link, a, and are also connected, by links a n with the cams l I, so that when one pair of cams is thrown into, the other is thrown out of, working position. When the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the can) i will engage the pin 13 on the locking device 7: to unlock it, after which, in completing the stroke the bar i engaged by the tappet m will turn the paddles, so that they will make their next stroke in the direction opposite to the arrow with the paddles, face to the water. to propel the vessel backward, and at the end of this stroke the cam l unlocks the device k, and the paddles are again turned by the bar 2' and tappet m.

When it is desired to cease propelling or to retard the vessel without wholly stopping the engine, the tappets m may be placed, by the handle 0, in the intermediate position (shown in Fig. 8) during the stroke after the paddles have been placed in the desired position edgewise or face to the water, after which neither bar h nor i is engaged to turn the paddles.

The unlocking-cams l 1 will now be thrown out of operative position by moving forward the handled link a, as in Figs. 2 and 7, and the cam I will be moved over into engagement with the notch 14 of the link n (see Fig. 7,) where it will not affect the locking device, so that the paddles will remain locked in the same position during both strokes as long as the parts remain in this position.

The paddle-shaft socket-piece c, Fig. 2, is provided with thrust-arms of great width and rigidity in the direction of movement of the rod a, the said arms at their lower extremities entering sockets in a yoke, a, passing over the ends of the paddle-shafts d, next to the neck of the paddles d. The arms 12 and yoke r transmit the power directly from the shaft a to the paddles d and the water, and relieve the lower portion of the paddle-shafts d, between the socket-piece e and the paddles, of the strain which otherwise might bend or break them. The socket-piece e is provided with sockets e for the paddle-shafts d, which are free to move longitudinally therethrongh, so that when the paddles are edgewise or parallel to the keel and well-rooms they may be hoisted up into the latter, the yoke r then passing up over the thrust-arms p, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2. The shafts d are provided with rings d for the purpose of hoisting them, these rings also serving as a guide to the engineer or pilot to show the position of the paddles in the water. The socket-piece e is provided with guide-pieces t, which run on guides at on the inner sides of the well-rooms c, to support the weight of the said socket and connected mechanism, thus relieving the stuffing-boxes b b, and also retaining the socket-piece e in position when the rods to or a are removed, as in overhauling, and so on.

The cross-heads a? are shown as connected, by light rods u, with cranks a, on a shaft provided with a fly-wheel, the said cranks being placed nearly but notquite a half-circle apart to prevent dead-centers, but to have the stroke of the two sets of paddles substantially opposite, they propelling alternately. It is obvious that this fly-wheel may be omitted; but I prefer to use it to operate the valves and keep the engines both running uniformly, as well as to equalize the force of the engine in the forward and back strokes.

One set of paddles alone may be used in the middle line of the vessel, if desired, and the paddles may be placed at any point, fore, aft, or amidships, as most convenient. When two sets are used, as shown, the feathering mechanism of each being controlled independently, they may be used to steer the vessel as desired. By causing the two sets of paddles to propel simultaneously in opposite directions the vessel may be turned as on a pivot, which is sometimes very desirable, and cannot be accomplished by the usual propellers.

It will be seen that the rack-bar i has only sufficient teeth to engage one of the pinions g, the power being transmitted therefrom to the other pinions by the bar it.

I sometimes prefer to provide guides at on each side of the slide it of the socket e, as shown in Fig. 9, and the rod a and stuffing-box b may be dispensed with, thus economizing the space traversed by the said rod (t outside of the wellroom.

I claim- 1. In a propelling apparatus, a paddle having a vertical shaft and reciprocated horizontally, in combination with a pinion on said shaft, a rack-bar arranged in a horizontallyreciprocated frame and engaging said pinion, and operated intermittently in a direction opposite to that of the frame, whereby the said paddle is turned at the end of its movement in each direction to thereby cause it to act by its face to propel the vessel in one direction and to cut through the water edgewise in the other direction, substantially as described.

2. Reciprocating paddles provided with shafts having pinions thereupon, and a rackbar engaging said pinions to turn the shafts so as to present the face or edge of the paddles to the water, in combination with a frame carrying said rack-bar and having stops 4, and a releasable locking device, k k, to engage said stops in accordance with the direction of motion of the frame to retain the paddles in one position during the stroke, substantially as described.

3. The reciprocating paddleshavin g pinions adapted to be engaged byintermittently-moved rack-bars h or i, to turn them at the end of their stroke a quarter-revolution, in combination with shifting-tappets m m, adapted to be brought into conjunction with either of the rack-bars to shift them to cause the propellingstroke of the paddles to be made in either direction, as desired, irrespective of the direction of movement of the actuating power, substantially as described.

4. In a propelling apparatus, the combination of paddles having shafts provided with pinions, a reciprocating frame carrying a rackbar and having stops thereon, a rack-bar movable in a direction opposite to that of its frame to feather said paddles, a lever to engage the stops on said frame to retain the paddles in a given position, and cams to engage said lever to lift it from the frame-stops to permit the feathering of the paddles, substantially as de scribed.

5. The combination, with the reciprocating drivingrod and paddle-shafts and paddles connected therewith and actuated thereby, of thrust-arms connected with the said rod to transmit the power therefrom to the paddleshafts at the neck of the paddles, to thereby relieve the said shafts from bending-strain, 11o substantially as described.

6. The wcll'room and paddle-shafts therein, and the driving-rod and socket-piece for the said shafts, combined with the guides for the said socket piece to sustain the weight thereof I r 5 when in operation, and support the same in proper position when the driving-rod is removed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The reciprocating driving-rod a, and a 120 number of paddles to which it imparts its motion,in combination with mechanism to feather such paddles, and a link moving with said driving-rod and connected with the feathering mechanism to cause the latter to be recipro- 12 5 cated in unison with the driving-rod and paddles without strain upon the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two sub- 1 o scribing witnesses.

Witnesses: WILLIAM I. PAGE.

J 0s. P. LIVERMORE, ARTHUR REYNOLDS. 

